Thanks for the vids, Chris. No promises, but I'll see if I can film something myself.

Quote:

Jason Casteel wrote:

I agree with Mike about your first video. That's just timing and over-commitment by your uke.

Yeah, not what I'd define as aiki at all. As I noted in the other thread, my definition and implementation of aiki is completely different than yours, Chris.

Quote:

Jason Casteel wrote:

Your second video is getting somewhere, IMO. What you're doing there is not difficult for anyone to replicate. The questions are:

I'd agree here, too. Although I thought Chris looked pretty good while being pushed on the outstretched arm. I didn't have the same question as Patrick because I thought you looked fairly structured and you didn't look like you were pushing back. But, as Patrick noted, it's hard to tell with video. I thought Jason's follow up questions were pretty good. I'd call these things structure, but for the rest of your examples in this vid, I wouldn't. They were more "tricks" as you called them.

Here's my followup questions for the second vid.

On the push test where you are sitting, it looks like the vector that Mike is pushing is fairly straight down your spine. Can you have Mike push in a more 90 degree vector to your head (i.e. more horizontal force) and still remain unmoved? Also, can you straighten your back so that your spine is 90 degrees to the mat and do this?

When you have Mike push on your shoulders, you use your hands under his arms to create a physical leverage. And yes, I'd call it a trick, too. So, can you remove your arms completely, let Mike push, and not be pushed over?

As Sigman noted with the graphic, in Tohei's one foot push test, he doesn't use the "trick" of placing a hand under uke's arm. Can you stand on one foot, have Mike push you without resorting to placing your arm under his, and not be pushed over?

If you can do these things, then that's what I'd call having a structured body. Still not aiki, but it's a start.

Quote:

Jason Casteel wrote:

while there are a lot more things at work in Aiki than just skeletal structure, I think that if you take your example and add the five things above, you get closer to what aiki is and from that you can form a solid understanding of what it can do. I'm sure other people could add more things to it as well.

I didn't comment on your third video as I don't see it having any relevance to the discussion.